Rotten Peach
by Lays
Summary: DISCONTINUED Princess Peach was jealous and she committed a sin which she now regrets on. Can things turn back as it was? Or maybe even better? Or perhaps everything is just false hope?
1. Chapter 1

Dear reader,

Thank you for clicking on this! The setting is pre-Brawl, after Melee. There are a lot of flashbacks later on (not on chronological order) which are around the end of Melee's time. I don't like Peach much, maybe it can be recognised in this fic. Normally I tell a LOT of nonsense before starting the story but this time I do not so I can just start.

**And I hope you enjoy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Nintendo, except this fanfic.**

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**Chapter 1**

_Once upon a time, long ago, there was a peaceful kingdom hidden from our eye, inhibited by living fungi. This kingdom, the Mushroom Kingdom was under the reign of a wise King and his beloved Queen. Unfortunately they both turned ill and left to a better world, leaving the entire heir for their baby daughter, the gorgeous princess. Under the aegis of the toads she grew up into the most beautiful lady (cough, cough, cough!) an eye ever can behold. The princess has a pretty face, sweeter than all fruits from which the galaxies' orchards bear. Her lips are pink as sugary peaches, her wavy hair are golden as the finest silk, her skin is pale as a.. decaying zombie (short chuckle). The name of the 'blessed' maiden is Toa-.. _

"AW, SHUT UP!"

"Ahem.. My skin is not pale like a decaying zombie! Where on earth did you found that simile, Mr. Announcer!? Another thing, what was the coughing for, you piece of goomba ...!" Keep yourself calm. You don't need to swear, Peach.

"It is common knowledge that my beauty is unmatched! My name is not Princess Toadstool! My name is PEACH! Simply peachy. Shut up! I continue with my own introductions. Interfere, and fear my wrath!"

"Oh, hi folks." Pretend that nothing happened.

"I am so sorry that you have to see me like that. It was nothing! Oh, really nothing. Everyone has some anger, I guess, even a sweet princess. Hihihi. I hope I did not frighten you, little honey pies. Let's repeat some parts. Ahem.. Dear people, my name is Princess Peach! I know you heard enough of my family's tragedies, let's think positive and talk about happy things. What about my life and my handsome Mario? Aw, isn't he adorable? He is a little bit plump but extremely courteous and romantic, don't you think so? He risks his life every time to safe me from naughty Bowser's clutch!"

I think it is good to stop speaking at this point. I am tired. So incredibly tired. Every time I have to put on this fake kind of show. For everyone I have to pretend to be the 'dumb blonde' and bimbo princess. They tell me to act like a stupid attention whore. Because the role of the perfect and wise princess is already occupied by Zelda. That Zelda is so lucky. She is the symbol of 'perfection' and 'beauty'. But those kinds of princesses are boring, right? I don't even want to be like her. So at the other hand I am glad that I am not so _très_ _ordinaire _(very ordinary in French) like Zelda.

I admit that I'm not the world smartest but that does not make me the dumbest! I know that I have certain physical charms but they tell me to exaggerate them to appear more cute and sexy at the same time. It might sound easy, to be cute, but the outcome is atrocious. I became the type of cuteness that makes everyone barf. From top to toes I have to wear pink. Pink, the girlishly colour that symbolises fertility and youth. I have to talk on a real high pitch that is almost glass-breaking. Heck, I am not a little girl anymore, I am already.. Hmm, it is a secret, I'm not telling you my age.

Nevertheless I am not the drama queen or slut that everyone think I am. I might have more than one boyfriend at one time however my love for Mario is always faithful. It is not my fault that Nintendo created so many hot guys in our universe! I could not help when they decided to stuff the world of SSB full with sexy men. I dated Doug, but nothing is compared to my Mario's romantic attempts. I kissed McCloud's soft feline lips, yet the tickling from Mario's moustache is always cosier. I even slept with the passionate Roy, still for me, fiery Mario is the hottest man alive. Yes, how silly it sounds, that short Italian plumber belongs to my primary needs. And yet there are people who think that I secretly desire Bowser. Hello! The only feeling I have for that turtle is maybe sympathy, because after seeing him fail so many times, you really do have to feel sorry for him.

I told you that I'm not the smartest girl on this universe. But I can use my brains and even think. Hahaha, very funny. I bet you are laughing at the moment. Hearing that even Princess Peach uses her brains. When you think about it, you realise that it is pretty stupid. Do you know what exactly is really stupid? Why am I still keeping on with this act? Why do I have to be like this? I mean playing this dumb princess role? I keep this imago to satisfy others. They told me to be like this in front of others. Others, you heard it right, in front of others. Nintendo gave me the task to be the entertaining, however not so bright, lead heroine. I love the attention, but not the way I get it. And currently there are no others at this place. This Smash Brothers universe. So why am I going on like this?

When the tournaments are up, it is hectic, no utterly madness. All different kind of people from all kind of universes comes over to this place to be a spectator of our fights. Because we are not just legendary characters, we are the heroes created by Nintendo. Yes, that includes me. Heroes, the word sounds so much sweeter, when you actually are one of those heroes they especially love. All champions, thus heroes and villains alike from different universes, combine their forces, right here. But now the tournaments had ended and most of the Smashers have returned back to the world they live and belong. It became dreary silent and deserted when everyone left.

In fact not everyone returned. I decided to stay here, alone. Sometimes Mario does visit me through the portals, so I don't have to be too lonely. But there is something that hurts me tremendously. One of the fellow Smashers could never return. Since that accident. That accident is still burned inside my memories. Like a nightmare the image of that moment haunts me day and night, preventing me from any sleep. It is not any ordinary accident. I was there. Frankly, it sort of went wrong, because of me.

My behaviour is my disguise, a void enshrouding my sins. Being the bimbo princess I can be careless and behave foolishly without being criticised. They all just think that Peach ate too much of sugar when she gives silly comments or tell fruity jokes. But the whole identity is a conspiratorial lie. Maybe a person's true nature can never be entirely covered. From outer appearance I appear sweet and pretty. Like a peach my skin is soft. However from the inside, the real me, is rotten. Like an unseen fungus hidden inside of the core of the fruit. It is even in my name: Toadstool. I live from decay fed by jealousy. Unlike other organisms, a fungus is persistent and won't just die. A mushroom grows from detritus, and my vices are great hosts to feed the mycelium. I can't stop my jealousy, which consumes me from the inside, devouring away the flesh of the peach. They joke that Luigi is green from envy, they just don't know any better. Now I have a realisation that my jealousy is my greatest sin. But it is already too late. Master Hand said that even his powers combined with Crazy Hand, it would be insufficient to bring back everything as it should be.

This is the untold story from my perspective that no one have ever heard. If you are interested I am willing to share you the parts I still can remember.

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Thanks for reading (till the end)! Because this makes the author very, no extremely happy! If you have comments, please tell me. If you think it sucked, I recommend you not to continue. Simple as that. Next chapters will be pretty soon. ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

Great, that you decided to continue. Sorry, for those who are following my story. I want to work on it sooner but like most people know, school is not your best friend. Frankly, it can be annoying! :D What I simply mean is that I had a busy time, and in fact it is now not much better. I won't promise soon chapters anymore.

I wanted Peach to be stupid, however when getting into her role, I don't know how to write in her perspective being dumb. That's why she turned out different, but I'm okay with it. And some of the readers like her being that way, so she stays like this.

Note that the flashbacks are not in order.

**Disclaimer: I don't even own a rotten peach, let alone SSB, its characters and Nintendo. :( I only own this fanfic. (Hey, better than nothing!)  


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**Chapter 2:**

First of all, there is one universal truth in the Smash Universe and that is: All the men are so peachy! Oh, I mean sexy and attractive! I can see it, you can't deny this fact, can you? I don't care whether you are a girl or a guy. You sometimes just have this weird cosy feeling in your belly. I know you love Nintendo's creations, hmmm? That includes me, by the way, in case you are wondering!

At my arrival I was greeted by this horde of hot guys. Guess what? I can remember all their names! Let's start with the adorable guys from my little place. My dear Mario as his old plumber self and in a doctor costume. I don't know where he got that outfit from; as far as I am concerned he never finished high school. Sorry, for straying away from my subject. No one likes school, am I not right? Maybe, he is a quack, but hey sugar lumps, don't tell anyone that you heard it from me, okidoki? Oh yeah, you got Bowser, the big persistent stalking turtle has to join too, as you might know. There you have Roy, some totally cute sword man from whatever country. And he had a buddy with him, this insanely handsome Prince Marth. YES! He is a prince! Ah, then you have Captain Dougie, McCloud (which sounds much better than just Fox), Lombardi, Link, Dorfie, Mr. Gamie & Watchie, Yoshi, D. Kong, Kirby (is his pinkness not adorable?), Mewtwo, Pika bros., and last but not least, Sammy. I know, the name Sammy sounds so lovely and sweet. However in fact, that man's full name is so much tastier. Oooh. Samus Aran's name already is spicy as sambal.

Popo and Nessie are still kids, and young Link also, hihihi, can't count them as men. I'm sure they will turn hot, sooner or later. Sheik is debatable. I'm not that dumb. Surely I know that Sheik is supposed to be Zelda, but his or her gender is not clear in disguise. And she has these freaky magic, she might gender swap as well. Who knows?

Oh wait, did I forgot to mention someone? Hmm? I don't think so.

How much I attempt to avoid my silly role play I can't completely get over it. Force of habit can be pretty annoying, and I have the living proof. Please bear with me when I keep the role of the Peach you love and particularly hate. Even though as much as I despise it, it had grown attached to me in a special kind of way. Like it is part of my inseparable identity.

Honestly, I exaggerated with the list of sexy males. Some indeed are attractive, however seriously not all of them. Ganondorf is a scary wrinkled-face old wizard. No thanks, and Kirby is a.., in fact I'm not so sure what he is. Kong is a big monkey. Developed human (_Homo Fungi_) like me does not fall for these kinds. The only men apart from Mario that did catch this princess' humble heart and attention were Roy and Samus. Roy earns his reputation as a hot-head thanks to his pyromaniac obsessions and crimson hair. His name reminds me from the French word for king: roi. I guess you already know this, but when you get rid of the white neutralising element from the colour pink you get the colour rouge. As if Roy was part of my wild, dark side, which was free and isolated from the snowy-white pureness. The effect was scarlet, the colour symbolising powerful abstract elements as passion, romance, lustre, and danger. Samus had a different kind of attractiveness. At that time when all of us still considered her as a 'he' (even how absurd it might sound), I think every Smasher was attracted by her. As long as your imagination allows, Samus could be anything or anyone. If you do not have the imagination, things stays simple as they are. Being faceless, you would automatically get a face assigned, so you would be considered more familiar. The nature of many living organisms fears the unknown, albeit how sophisticatedly it sometimes does attract us. The first time I saw 'him' I was amazed. I wanted to discover him, the way like young children when given a new toy. Like a magnet pulled by steel I endeavoured to explore more than what the eyes meet, despite I know that Mario might like the idea less than I did.

Things were still peaceful back then. We fought but they were nothing else than friendly competition or even work-outs for some. Because none of us could ever die on stage. Back then, I remembered an innocent time when I was together with Zelda. Watching a match as audience what we usually did as girls. Back then, things weren't as ugly or empty as now. Times when I could hang out with other Smashers.

"Peach, I appreciate an honest answer. How's my hair today? It isn't atrocious, is it?" Zelda suddenly asked with great insecure in her tone. That princess always sits hours in front of her vanity. She knows she looks gorgeous and that chocolate hair of hers is always perfect as always. Zelda just want to hear a compliment from me, I know her too well. She doesn't need them, everyone admires her beauty. She is just a poor attention seeker.

"Peachy as always, girl! Don't worry about Link, sweetheart. He likes you as much as he likes.. uhm well, what does Link like?" I told her in an over-hyper excited manner to comfort her until I cannot think of anything that Link would like. I ended up darting my eyes awkwardly in a 'thinking' matter. Smart peach.. always coming up with things while I do not even have the slightest idea of how to finish the sentence.

"I am so delighted to hear. Yet I have this unexplainable feeling. This is not concerned about Link. Oh, please don't tell anyone! I rather not want anything to besmirch my reputation." The Hyrulian princess started whispering as she had a great secret to tell. I love secrets and gossip. Oh, what would it be?

"I'll be ears. And no one is more dependable than Princess Peach, I can assure you. I won't tell anyone. Consider as my little promise." I happily told. Keeping my mouth shut is the biggest oxymoron ever. Everyone knows that I love nothing more than fruity gossip.

"Thank you, Princess Peach, for hearing me out. My concerns are on today's match. You are cheering for Mario, I assume. There is something I cannot simply put in the correct words. I had been searching for the right..." her insecurities rose back. She waved her hands nervously as suggesting a notion that was forbidden to leave her lips. Hints of confusion was seen in her azure eyes.

"Let me guess, Zelda. You have been fallen in love!" I enthusiastically uttered.

"Please, not so loud, Princess Peach! Eavesdroppers and false rumour-spreaders are the last I desire." The elfin girl resumed the whispering voice while scanning our vicinity quickly.

"That means that I am right." I added.

"I humbly admit, yes. No, no, no. You have been gravely mistaken! It is nothing more than admiration. I beg my pardon. In fact, it is nothing at all." I saw through her lies. She was in love indeed.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." I tusked a bit teasingly.

"Don't tell me he is Mario, naughty petite princess! If you do.." I was merely joking, nothing too serious. It did cause Zelda to confess more about her mystery man.

"No, it is nothing in the sorts. Please, refrain from making these false assumptions, it is embarrassing me. Link is a good man. He is brave, he is a hero, he even risks himself for my life. He might appear down to earth and a commoner at first glance, however at heart he is extremely kind and spontaneous. Much more than what his appearance tell us. But my trouble is that while I'm seated as an audience I cannot muster myself of cheering for him. Strange, isn't it?"

"It is not that difficult Zelda. You just buy a megaphone and collect more confidence. Then you yell: 'GO! LINK!' with all the air you can gather. Give it a try, girl! I'll support you with cheering, okay?"

"I wish it was that simple. In this match, the last three men standing are as you can see: Your Mario, dear Link, and.." she froze for a second, clearing her thoughts, "Sir Aran." while pronouncing the full emphasise on the last name.

"So? Wait a second, Zelda. Sir Aran?"

"It is the mystery and enigma of the unseen. Very little do I know about him, which makes him even more tempting. Behind the walls of cold emotionless steels, I wonder what kind of person rests. We bewilder from what we see, and what we do not see, tickles our curious minds. Imagine if he is like my age or just slightly older. What colour eyes would he have? Maybe even the same blue like me. What colour skin? What colour hair? Or the features of his face? And I bet for 1000 Rupees that his body would be perfectly muscularly formed. I don't care what others say. They say that he is just an emotionless machine without soul and nothing less or more. But he is more than just a dull robot. I know it is false what others say because I can convince myself that Samus is an attractive man. What if he is _the_ knight in the shiny armour? Or a prince like Marth? The longer I watch this death match I can feel my desire burning like Din's combust." It was the pure joy on her face. Joy, was an understatement, she was in euphoria. Even though I cannot take a peek inside her imagination, I knew she was daydreaming again like a little girl.

"No way!" I exclaimed, which startled Zelda causing her to jump out of her chair.

"I beg my pardon, Peach?"

"I claimed Samus long before you ever did, Princess Zelda! Go back to your Link."

"But Mario. He is just right there, sweating and attempting his best to entertain you. How could you?"

"I'm not afraid if he overhears our discussion. Love is a precious thing. I am not great at keeping secrets. If I like someone, why should I keep it a secret? Things like love, should be expressed, not hid. Hey, since we are falling for the same guy. What about cheering him now, two of us together?"

"No, I'm sorry, Princess Peach. I can't allow myself, not when Link.."

"NO! Wrong answer. Here, I have a spare megaphone. Now, you have to shout out the top of your lungs! Come on, Zellie!"

She took the pink megaphone from my hands and I saw Zelda standing up rigidly from her seat. She took a few deep breaths and we shared a brief moment of eye contact.

"Are you ready?"

"I think I prepared enough."

"Here we go! GO! SAMUS! GO!" We both cried madly through the megaphones. And of course, remaining his cool composure and focus, he never wasted a moment to even look back at us. However it was funny to see the shock on both my Mario and Link's face. The two who ignited the whole audience cheering for their opponent and the same two who shouted the loudest for Samus, were no one other than the two princesses. It did the wonder. Both our guys were caught off guard and knocked out from the stage by the wonderful Sir Aran. The orange suit in the twilight, gleamed triumphantly from the sun which hung right above the stage. While the poor plumber and the elf boy rubbed their injuries in the shadows, together with Mr. G&W, who no one actually ever notices. We must have looked like a twosome of fanatic fangirls but it felt ecstatic. Being royalty, we were never as free to express ourselves. Particularly Zelda enjoyed the moment of silliness, being a proper princess for the whole time is genuinely exhausting.

"That was refreshing. And Zelda, don't think you can go away, this easily. Since you now revealed the name of your love, consider me as a worthy archrival."

"For what?" with a faked oblivion she questioned.

"Hmmm? Playing the innocent girl again. I see your temptation for Sir Aran."

She nodded back shyly but it was as a sign of agreement after all.

"Alright, please don't underestimate me. I take this challenge on. To fight fair and square for his love. Wait where are you going?"

"To congratulate dear Sammy for his victory. I bet he demands a nice present from me or maybe a sweet kiss on his lips." I gave her a wink and ran off quickly to the destination where the Smashers are teleported after a well-fought match.

"I consider this as cheating. Ha! As Sheik, I'm much faster!" the feisty princess joined me in her disguise. Together we dashed carelessly, free from any worries on our minds.

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Thanks for reading again! :D I'm not making any predictions when the next chapter arrives as they are never correct.

I noticed that the first chapter is only an extension of what the summary says. This sounds a bit of futile chapter but I should add something to the plot and story in its whole, later on. But if you don't like detours, give a reply at reviews or PM. Then I'll go straight to the point.

I hope I did not forget to mention a male character. I almost forgot Yoshi. And **Luigi** is intentionally left out as people in the games tend to forget him. Although I think the poor guy deserves more credit than Mario. Dorfie is just Ganondorf.

In fact I only played Melee, and very little other Nintendo games. I don't know much about the characters background, so a lot will be out of thin air. Samus stays a 'guy' in this fanfic a bit longer. I don't want to tell the pairings yet, because I don't want to spoil too much. :P

Please tell me whether the characters are OOC. I prefer keeping the characters intact but with very little knowledge about these games, it is more difficult.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey reader,_

I haven't updated the story for a very long time, like more than a month. I'm really sorry for that! I sort of lost my dedication of finishing it, but I can't abandon the readers (I wonder whether I still have any). Well, it is not the time for more excuses, so let's carry on quickly. Thank you very much for continuing and special thanks for the people who left a review: OkamixInu, Akira. Cullen, Arauru, and King Sparky. Sorry for any mistakes in spelling the names, if there are any.

BTW this chapter is not a flashback. It's back to the present time. A few weeks/months (not that important to consider) after chapter 1. It is a longer chapter than usual. Not much happens at the beginning, but a chapter is still a chapter. ^_^

And I forgot to tell that I do not write real action scenes. So you can never expect that anywhere.

Oh, hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: Nothing much, except this fic.

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**- Rotten Peach - **

**Chapter 3:**

Remember that I told you once, that at the time when everybody left, everything became silent? Every time when my thoughts stray from the past, back to the present, the eerie silence come back to my realisation. Parts of the lingering happy memories are the only things that keep me feel alive. Otherwise I had already become one with the emptiness of this place.

It is not what you call serenity, I wish it was. It was true that no sign of clashes are heard anymore. You don't have the little children like Ness and Popo arguing over silly things like whoever hit or pushed who first. You don't hear anyone complaining that Kirby gobbled the whole banquet. I even used to find it annoying when Marth and Link duelled for bragging rights to win Zelda's heart. And the poor thing for the boys was that Zelda always changed her mind and rather pick a different man when seeing the immature behaviour of the two swordsmen. Now and then, Ganondorf caused commotions by planning schemes to take over the entire Nintendo universe. It was never a moment of peace, frankly, it even kept the world exciting. I even miss the oh-so-annoying grunts of Falcon at _every_ morning starting from 5 o'clock. It was as if he wanted to surpass Donkey Kong in behaving like a big gorilla. There are no longer the eardrum-cracking sonic booms or the loud roaring engine during the start-up of the Arwings. You might even say that it is a plus for the environment with lower emission of harmful gasses, if you ever take into consideration what Greenpeace blared about us: Nintendo. (Actually those silly reports by Greenpeace are based on bull-.. Bullet Bills! So never ever believe them! Greenpeace is evil!)

Still, with all the lack of noise, it never gave a feeling of peace and calmness. Those things I mentioned were the sound of the living. Although none of the Smashers ever arrive at a point of complete agreement, we stayed one big family. Well, it is not true, as we aren't the family anymore. There is one universal truth that everyone does agree on: The unspoken sounds came from the lack of life. Smash Universe was literally dead, apart from the presence of myself. I have no idea whether the Hands left. It is possible that they are still running and managing the place from behind the curtains. Personally, I haven't seen their physical entities for a very long time. I hope they haven't abandoned the Mansion completely. I don't know why, but their presence reassured me that there is still hope.

I lost the track of time. I have no knowledge of how many years I waited inside the Smash Mansion. It could be one, two as well, or a whole decennia. For me, time is frozen, it is as if life never moves on. In my vanity I still see the same Peach, still having the silky wrinkleless porcelain skin. Still her hair wavy golden, never losing its precious shine. Maybe the only difference is that I feel regret for the first time in my life, however that cannot be seen in mirrors. And maybe my eyes are also less lively, not the clear cerulean spheres anymore. But that's all that has changed.

It is not any kind of punishment for my deed. No one said that I have to stay, I chose it myself. Of course I feel lonely here. Of course I want to have people around me! Of course I wish that Mario would stay with me forever, however I do not deserve him. A person like me does not deserve such an honest man! Every choice was made with responsibility, and the consequences I have to face with responsibility. I repent of what I did in the past, and it is just weird if I go back and pretend that everything is alright.

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I have no certain destination, when I have slightly more energy than usual I make a small stroll through our home. When everybody left, the interior of Smash Mansion seems much colossal. I feel like a tiny little microbe being mocked by giant walls and spacious chambers. And the disturbing thing is that nothing inside ever moved from its place. It is as if someone secretly clean the place and maintains it as it was before. You expect an abandoned castle to be dirty, draped by strings of grey dust, covered by spider webs, and that all lamps cease from functioning. However the mansion is extraordinary sterile and clean, the carpet is never covered by dust. It is creepy in a sense. It is pretending that people are living in a house, where no one have lived for a long time.

I walk to the dining chamber, a place filled with old indestructible memories. I used to love cooking, especially for other people, although I'm rather inept at it. Back home, the toads did all the cooking, because a princess like me is restrained from any labour. Secretly I practised my cooking skills, when no toad was watching the kitchen. They let me cook for fun at Smash Kitchen, but normally Luigi and Kirby are the ones preparing dinner.

The dining chamber was a well-lit room with many golden chandeliers dangling under the ceiling. In the centre was this long rectangular table where all the Smashers could sit down together. Very slowly, with careful puny steps, I circled around the table, while my fingers caressed the pure-white table cloth.

Around the table different chairs are aligned. Some are gorgeous thrones with silk cushions and diamond ornaments. Those are reserved for the royalty, including prince Marth, king Ganondorf, princess Zelda, and myself. Bowser was a royalty too but he somehow couldn't afford a throne where he fits in, although he never admitted it. Others are wooden chairs painted in different colours, while there are also metal chairs for certain enthusiasts. Differently shaped they are the assigned seats personalised for the Smashers. Master Hand assigned fixed seats to prevent the archenemies of igniting their feuds. Even the cutlery is adapted to the Smasher. Like the seats, the forks, knives, spoons and plates are unoccupied by their owners. The table appears like it is ready for a banquet, only minus the delicacy and the gourmets.

Groggily, I scan each empty seat I pass along. I see a bronze grail with silver spikes in front of an over-sized steel mini-sofa, which occupies the space fitting two people. I thought only of one person. _Bwahahaha!! I'm bad-ass and EVIL!! Remember that, fat plumber!_

One is a tiny star-shaped chair, raised by stapled platforms and multiple plates are put in front. Must be for the gluttonous Kirby. _Puyo? Puyo! Puyo! _(When his glittering eyes ogles the 'infinite' amount of food approaching)

A row of bowls is put on top of the tables. I can imagine seeing the Pokémon eating their meals happily. One of the bowls distinguished itself from the others. To its right, there is this collection of bended silver spoons. _Why was no one smart enough to invent unbendable spoons? Spares me the tragedy._

The chair next is medium-sized and crafted from greenish timber. On the table is a menu card with pictures instead of words. Link was never good at reading and he could only tell the menu of his choice by pointing at the drawings. Next to Link is of course Zelda's seat. A lilac throne with a beautiful golden Tri-force insignia on the back side.

All the little details resembled each of the Smashers and make them unforgettable. It makes me happy but sad at the same time.

_Fox: What did you say!? I'm not a beast! That blue guy is!_

_Falco: Shut up, McCloud!_

Both the pilots drunk milk from a pet bowl like the Pokémon did, although they always resist the idea of being called beasts. It was not nice, but some did like calling them beasts. Guys like Ganondorf and hypocritically Bowser too.

_Ness: Look Popo, I can flambé the chicken wings with PK Fire!_

_Ice Climbers: And do you know what we can? We can pound the potatoes into a hotchpotch with our mallets within three seconds!_

I chuckle for a second. It always used to be a messy litter of food and sauces at this corner. It was where the kids sat. Food battles were a common sight, and beneath the table, debris of unwanted vegetables was hidden underneath. Now the tablecloth is unrealistically virgin clean. I sigh and continue slowly. I am almost nearing the seat which belonged to those two men, who were my first human contact. They are green and red chairs which colour matching cutleries. _Princess Peachy...I will never leave-a you! I promise-a I return!_

I finally completed the circle back where I started. Next to Mario's seat is mine. As you can guess, everything is pink. My eyes are focused on my plate. A tangled mess of spaghetti cover the rosy porcelain. As a desert, someone prepared me a pudding of peaches. It used to be my absolute favourite, not anymore. The pasta already turned cold but I'm not hungry. I decide to skip the meal and move on. Before I left, I check the seat next to mine. This is actually an always empty seat and not so surprising it stays this way. This was meant for Samus Aran. But she never stayed for a meal with us all. According to Mario she even behaved like that even when they were still a number of twelve Smashers. Worried Smashers even tried to drag Samus for one meal by force, albeit it never worked. So she never knew what it was like to eat together.

Then I walk off and made my final glance of the dinner table. It is arranged the same way as I check upon it many times before, apart from my plate. When I don't cook for myself, there is always this food, miraculously. I spent enough time in the dining chamber. I felt the sudden urge for some fresh air and dressed in my gown, in case it is cold outside.

---

If I have to choose a place which I approve most, it is definitely the garden. It is more than just a garden, all kind of flora, big and small, grows freely. The green is extremely soothing during depressing times. I love the flowers and the fruits that grow on trees during summer. Plants live in cycles and survive all tides of the year. When you give them enough care, they return their gratitude by growing vividly. They rejuvenate after the bitter winter, rising from the dead. That is what I admire most. I exit the main gates and head to the Smash Botanical Garden. My estimation is quite accurate, the weather is quite cold and chill. Fortunately I have worn my gown.

I saunter to the garden, without haste. When I finally arrive, I try my best to enjoy the view, yet it is an utter disappointment. Whereupon the flowers used to grow, it is replaced by overcrowding tall ugly weeds. With their sharp thorns, they fight with each other for space and survival. Trees are naked, with their leaves shed, they revealed their dark skeletal silhouettes. Leaves that have fallen down are left to rot, lying in a mushy brown bed.

It turned dark, the evening has dawned. I have two choices, returning back to the mansion or carrying on with my promenade. Since I am staying inside during most of the time, it means no harm to be outside in open air for a bit longer. The garden is less promising than I have hoped for. A way further is the plaza of statues. Life-size sculptures are situated here, once created by the Hands to commemorate all Smashers. I stroll to the plaza, not minding at all that my ground-reaching dress soaked by the dirt on the wet floor. I want to see the place is because it never changes, no matter the situation.

When I arrive, to my great shock, it is different than it is before. The statues are moved from their supposing places. I remember clearly that my replica is next to Dr. Mario's. But his is nowhere close to mine. In closer inspection I realise that his was moved more to the left. It is not only Dr. Mario's sculpture, also the places of Mewtwo, Pichu, Young Link and Roy have changed. All five of them have been shoved to the left, while the rest stayed in a crowd more at the right. Noticeably you can see that the two groups are separated by a distance. I cannot explain why but I have this miserable feeling in my gut. I felt ill out of sudden. The feeling slightly move away when I discover the ground near the stone feet. Thanks to the lanterns, they supply enough lighting for me to actually see them. Out of all places where I expect them least, they grow here to my surprise. I bended down to see them better. Colourful flowers bloom around the statues, and it made me smile again slightly. I recognise their colours and their types immediately. The flowers around the right group are daffodils in various hues. I check my statue, it is surrounded by pink ones. Going more to the left, a population of crimson poppies are found, particularly a lot surrounded around Samus' feet. At the outmost left, a bed of white irises, lilies and snowdrops have grown. The flowers are in its purest white, almost like snow. Especially the white irises are fond of Dr. Mario, they hugged his statue delicately. When there is life, there is still hope, I thought.

I stray my gaze to the pathway lit under the lantern light. My tiredness is almost gone, I can finish the walk as well by continuing the path for a circle back to Smash Mansion. I watch carefully where the path leads as it is more difficult to make up directions at night. My vision froze abruptly when my eyes engaged a black shade. I cease my footsteps and brace myself against ambush. I focus on my surrounding sounds and particularly on the entity. The dead silence returns. Under the dim light, the faint shadow remains its position, apparently waiting for my following movement. It is too far away to make up its identity. I approach it vigilantly, with each small step, my heart made a more giant leap. However a safe distance is necessarily as I forgot to bring my lethal cooking pan. I shamble towards it very quietly while holding a spare radish behind my back firmly. Out of sudden it vanishes, and I vaguely recall of seeing it merge inside the darkness of the Lost Woods.

Now, I stand at the intersection point where the path branches in different directions. A quick decision must be made. The safe way is returning back to Smash Mansion. BADUMP... BADUMP... However whoever the shadow belongs to, it is not possible for anyone to be here. I am hundred percent certain that this place is abandoned by living souls, except me! Maybe it is a mere hallucination... BADUMP.. BADUMP.. now my heart beating at an even faster rate. Act Peach! Act now! My fear is engulfing my mind. My mind still hesitates, but my body responds on its own. My feet uncontrollably took me to the dusky side path leading to the ghostly woods. An infernal force invited me to enter, yet my conscience told me not to...

* * *

**Thank you again for reading (till the end)! **Reviews are welcome, however please don't write flames. Next chapters will be about where it was left off in chapter 2. I cannot say when they are finished. I just realised that I've got 4 reviews already and that's quite a high number in my opinion. (But the more the merrier they say?) I'll keep in mind that YOU at least got to the end and I hope that I update a little bit faster for the reader's sake.

The season in this chapter should be around spring. Poppies and lilies grown in spring I think.

I never played Fire Emblem. Is Roy actually a royalty? It will be extremely nice if you tell it in a review or something in the sorts.

---

A trivial nonsense about Greenpeace:

Greenpeace had once given a grade for the three 'next-gen' consoles. The report was quite old, so the next-gen consoles were PS3, XBOX 360, and Nintendo Wii, back at that time. And Wii scored the lowest with a 1 or something like that. O_o I have no exact idea whereupon the judgement was based, recycling stuff, etc. I believe. But you can guess that I am not so excited to hear that, as I hoped that Wii at least scored higher than 360. It's nothing of a personal grudge, but I'm not a fan of XBOX. Let's just don't pay too much attention at Greenpeace. :P


	4. Chapter 4

_Dear reader,_

I'm having holidays over a few weeks and right after that I have to go on a trip with school. I can't keep you waiting longer as I promised to finish it. Sorry for the late update. I was carried away by other ideas I had for other fics, particularly: "_When men turn jealous..."_ For some odd reason, got a sudden urge for FalSam and Snakus. You might wonder what my deal is with jealousness. Dunno, I like writing about it. No excuses, I'll shut up.

This is a flashback, which means that Samus is a guy in this chapter. Please don't be freaked out that she's constantly referred as he.

The previous chapter was called depressing by King Sparky. Yay, I wanted to write it depressingly and I'm glad it came across the way it should. This is a light-hearted silly chapter but it does add little something to the plot, you can skip if you want. You don't miss anything too important. It was originally meant to be separated chapters but I combined them together.

Never mind, I hope you enjoy it! (6_6)

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Nintendo, except this fic

* * *

**

**- Rotten Peach -  
**

**Chapter 4:**

**(Melee)**

"Zelda! You're going to the wrong direction. Uhm, the Portals are that direction, according to this tourist board."

"I am not Zelda. Refer me as Sheik." She mumbled back in a deep voice through her disguise. I tried to figure out the route from a large map which was found under a ginormous board that reads the text: WELCOME IN SMASH BROS. UNIVERSE! My silken index finger followed a meandering line in the cobweb and I believed we were on the right track. Sometimes even Smashers like us forget the directions. Hey, it is not that peculiar if you take into consideration how many portals there actually are. The amount is insane. You would get lost too my dear, I can guarantee.

We made our way through the hypermodern long aisle which had a shiny white interior. Ambience music from the Smash Brothers Universe was played from hidden speakers. A blue streak of artificial lighting ran through the clean white floor which even reflected our images. My high-heeled pumps and Sheik's boots clacked rhythmically on the marble tiles. The walls did not have paintings unlike the interior of the Mansion, instead it embodied holograms which depicted all kind of photos taken during the heat of the battles. The interior designs outside our Mansion had a very high-tech feel. [Author: you can compare it with Wii slightly. Shiny white, blue light. But timeline wise of the story, the characters should not know about the Wii.]

"Sheik, oh my... they even got a photo of mine!" I shouted.

The bandaged (wo)man nodded when I pointed a picture proudly which depicted me smacking the big smelly Bowser with my frying pan. He looked as if he was crying from pain and I giggled femininely from seeing the picture. A yellow light flashed next to me suddenly. It was Sheik referring away from the alter ego back to Princess Zelda. She had troubles with running on her high heels. Zelda pulled her long pink gown slightly up for better leg movements.

"My, my hair!" I cried out when I saw my reflection. The golden strands lost their style and hung down like a heavy drab curtain. It could look attractive, at least not in the current situation. It appeared as I'd been working out for hours. Zelda ruffled my hair, which made it look even worse. Somehow I had a feeling she tried to aggravate my hair, so I had less opportunity to shine. However I did forgive her, Zellie sweated far too from the little work-out. The flawless Hyrulian princess was not in her best shape either with her beautiful gown sticking against her body. We had to run fast as they say that our knight in shiny armour always leave the Portal Room fairly quick. I crossed my arm over hers.

"Princess Zelda from Hyrule, shall thou or shall I take the initiative of approaching Sir Aran?" Zelda blushed when I asked her the question.

"It's thy honour, Princess Toadstool from Mushroom Kingdom." She hastily replied.

"I'd rather be called Peach." I reminded her. Honestly, no one wants to be called a Toadstool, I'm not joking. She smiled politely and before we even recognise it, we already arrived at the Portal Room.

The metallic door with the Super Smash Bros. symbol slid open automatically, and we stepped inside. It was off-limits normally to prevent fanboys and fangirls from 'harassing' their favourite Smasher idols. But we were both Smashers ourselves, so the officials were lenient with us. Also, by saying that we couldn't wait to see our men any longer, they immediately stepped aside to let us pass. Immediately we were greeted by the chill air-conditioned atmosphere, which cooled off the heat we brought. The Portal Room was one gigantic chamber and it was full of different apparatuses, many TV screens, and a great quantity of portal devices obviously. I never understood how the portals worked, there were tons of doors in the Portal Room that lead to prominent locations which are familiar to us. You remember my castle in Mario 64? It was familiar like my castle, but only much larger and more high-tech. Through portals we are warped to anyplace we could think of, and it's not exactly like warp pipes because different doors can lead to the same place, and the same door can lead to different places. There must be someone managing the place, and whoever that is must be insanely smart.

The Hands said that there are more of such Portal Rooms as this, scattered over the Universe. They were under renovation or construction for in case when the tournament expended bigger. Then we could travel to even more places. I already got the feeling that I'll be lost soon rather soon, with the many possible travel routes. We could stare at the complex machineries with amazement, but we visited this place so often that we are accustomed to the wonders.

I already saw my Mario sitting on a plastic bench, rubbing his bruises constantly. He rolled up the red sleeves and undid the top part of his blue overalls. His younger brother applied ointment on the brother's sore joints.

"Weegee, Ouwawawah! Not there-a!" the red plumber shouted.

"Mario, I'm so sorry-a!" the green man apologetically shouted back.

Oh, I did not know that Sir Aran was that powerful. I rested my hands on top of each other and stood as straight as possible, like a proper princess. When Mario turned his head to my direction he forced a friendly smile despite the pain he bore.

"O, princess-a, so nice-a for you to visit me. Don't mind the... ouwawah! ...the bruises-a, I'm-a okay! Perfecto fine!" he uttered while he held one eye shut, suppressing the damage he received. Mario took off his crimson cap and bowed politely with his back until he groaned again in Italian tongue. Halfway the older plumber stopped and rubbed his own back continuously.

"Bro, mama mia, stop-a. You can restrain your back-a!" I felt sorry for him and walked over to Mario. I brushed my silken glove slowly over his soft chocolate curls. He sweated, the poor man had fought hard. I took a clean lacy handkerchief from my purse and wiped off the salty droplets on his forehead. The man's face turned even more crimson than he already was.

"Mario, you can cut the formalities. You don't need to bow. And please call me Peach. I'm certain that a strong man like you will be fine afterwards." I reassured Mario, and it seemed that he forgot his pain totally. He turned his head shyly away in the same manner his younger brother often does. I never expected that my courageous Mario had a coy side.

I made eye contact with princess Zelda. She was comforting the green-clad hero who whimpered even more childishly than his younger counterpart part. I meant Young Link, the younger version of Link in the Melee tournament. In the shadows of the corner a black figure seemed hiding. It was Mr. Game and Watch, the poor man did not have anyone to look after him. Sometimes you really feel sorry for him because he isn't a bad person, he's only unpopular. When they warped to the Recovery Room, all the injuries disappeared like snow after sunshine. The only drawback of the fights was that Master Hand needed time to prepare the Recovery Room. I winked at Zelda and she approached me.

"Peach, since we arrived here, shall we get back into business?" I nodded and pointed at the centre of chamber. Most of the time the winner or winners of the match received the full attention from press and media. Our knight stood there amid the swarming journalists confident with his left arm on his side.

"We can't allow ourselves to lose Sir Aran from our sight." I said.

"Peach, I'm meaning to ask you. I wonder whether you have noticed it too..." she asked with worry in her tone.

"What is the matter, dear?"

"Sir Aran's posture, the way he stands with his chest jutting out and one arm on his side, alas, it's rather feminine. Hmm. Perhaps it's only my opinion. Never mind what I said."

"You've got a keen eye, Zellie."

"Have you noticed it too?"

"Honestly, I haven't noticed it, Zelda. However what does it matter? Maybe Samus is a flamboyant man or maybe he's quite a feminine man. Albeit Prince Marth is feminine, he's indeed very handsome."

"Prince Marth..." Zelda pronounced the name in the same manner when she was enjoying a sweet bonbon melting in her mouth.

"Princess Zelda." I pulled her arm to snap her from her daydream. I saw the press moving away because any interview with him was not productive. The armour-clad man revealed nothing of himself, not even one word he had ever spoken. Sometimes, he even wrote the articles for the journalists just to shut them off or so they didn't annoy him. They were lazy people, they accepted anything he wrote and I could understand it perfectly. McCloud once showed me, no wait he didn't, he showed Falco, as the fox thought I was too dumb to understand newspapers. Thus eventually I secretly read this newspaper he brought which contained reports on the Smash matches. One of these was written by S.A. and everyone knew who was referred to. I was absolutely surprised, the text contained detailed and clear action descriptions from unbiased accurate analysis. You would expect that a robot would retell an event very dull and monotone, but he narrated with excellence choice of vocabulary and great flow of sentences. It was if you were experiencing the action yourself and most importantly was the lack of bias. Everyone would glorify him or herself after a match, but no, Samus didn't. I wonder what difference world that man saw from behind his green visor. From the articles, I can judge that he wasn't a robot but a man instead with great intellect and honesty.

"Ah yes, we should take action. Peach?" Suddenly I realised that I was the one daydreaming this time.

"Oh, I promised to take the initial step! Watch me closely Zellie, you might learn something new!" I told her with full enthusiasm. She tugged my glove giving an expression like: 'not so loud, Peach.' We had one priority objective and we even named our mission.

---

**[Stalking Sir Aran: Round One]**

I straightened my posture and flattened my dress. The wrinkles in the expensive silk needed to disappear. I adjusted my golden crown properly on my golden head. Apparently my hair style miraculously regained the form it should have. Like a shy fangirl, I watched the tall metallic man standing. I knew he glanced back into my cerulean eyes through the emerald visor of his. I could not help but blush, and my good friend was too timid to say anything, so I did all the talking.

"Uhm..." not a good way to start I knew. I have to sound more confident. He heard me, however he ignored us coldly as if he had an important matter to attend. Samus played hard to get. Sir Aran turned around and walked off.

"Sam! Please wait!" I managed to shout out. He stopped his trails, without turning hid masculine robot back to face me. He wanted one thing. Sir Aran did not walk to me. The bounty hunter tested me. The man wanted to know whether I had the courage to draw near. Being the fearless flirtatious princess I was, I walked over to his spot. Princess Zelda did nothing else than watch. Of course I did not show my interest immediately, according to novels I read, the hunter must not gain the feeling that he already won his trophy. I strode towards him very slowly, I wanted to test his patience. Like a gentleman he did not give any sign that I had to rush. I stopped when I stood right in front of him.

"Hello Sir... I mean Mr. Aran! Very nice to see you! Congratulations with your match!" I turned my head up to see the head of the taller man. Just what is the material of the visor? There was no way I could peer through and notice his facial features, while he apparently saw me gazing.

"Nice armour you are wearing, Mr. Aran. Must have needed the finest bricks of gold alloy and the best blacksmith to forge your equipment." I said it with a deeper voice than my usual princess tone. I kept my facial expression hidden, which was very unusual for me. Silence. An awkward silence followed. I felt slightly embarrassed. This riddle of a man was far more difficult to crack than I expected.

"Hihihi, why should I even bother to call you from clan name, dear? Like everyone in the Mansion call you by your name, am I not right, Samus?" I attempted with my notorious Peach-style. He did not answer. I must admit, Sam was the rudest man I'd ever dealt with conversations. Nobody ignored me like this before, even DK or Ganondorf give signs of response.

"Oh, never mind, never mind, handsome. We, thus Princess Zelda (while Zelda was nowhere to be seen) and I, admire your fighting abilities with great respect. We also wonder whether you mind of taking of your helmet, Samus?" I doubted that he actually listened.

"Pretty please, my dear?"

I thought my actions were futile until... I saw hope. His metallic fingers reached over to his helmet. Will he finally show us his true face? My azure eyes widened, even rounder than they already were. I held my hand against my chest. Dear, my heart was beating frantically. Out of sudden, the Hyrulian Princess teleported next to me with her magical spells. One might wonder where she was for the whole time. But something far more important was happening. None of us could have our eyes peeled off and none of us blinked. Mechanic sounds filled the Portal Room which arrived from the orange suit. He grabbed his helmet, then... he pushed some buttons on his arm cannon, lightning speed. Patiently we waited. He hasn't revealed anything yet. Then Samus stopped moving. Will the armour fall apart? Will anything happen?

The robot bowed and saluted at both of us. Wait! Was this everything? He promised me to show his face! Before I knew he already walked off. I faced Zelda and she talked.

"Perhaps Samus doesn't speak English? That can be a reason why he doesn't understand us. Have you considered this option? Or he's mute like Link." the Hyrulian princess suggested with a slight disbelief.

"It can't be true! A perfect man can speak English and he's not mute." I explained. Zelda gave an expression of being insulted. I realised my grave mistake.

"I'm sorry Zelda, I didn't mean to. Link is a good person, and he's a great and kind man, even without having the ability of speech. His love for you is real, at least. Although he can't speak the words: 'I love you' with his mouth, Link speaks it through his heart. He showed his love for you through his deeds, and that says far more..."

"Thank you Peach, I never realised that before." She showed her beautiful smile, which wins the heart of many men. "However, there is one thing I don't want to do anymore, which is... stalking Sir Aran in a silly manner."

"Zellie! Of course you don't stalk him in a silly manner! Because, we princesses, do it with style! Next time we stalk him stylishly, with love from both Hyrule and Mushroom Kingdom combined! I promise that our second attempt is a success."

---

**[Stalking Sir Aran, Round Two]**

It was early in the morning. After my daily princess routine, which consisted of two hours of styling session by my personal top stylists Toads, enjoying a royal breakfast, receiving a beauty / body massage, etcetera, I was ready for the day. I looked at the clock, 6 o'clock in the morning. This time it couldn't go wrong. I met up with Zelda in the Smash Garden. She already arrived earlier. I tempted to greet her, however I restrained myself right on time. The elfin princess was sitting on a marble chair meditating very peacefully. She had the pose of a yoga-master with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. The wind blew against her wavy long hair, yet she did not stir. I could not disturb her training because she once told me that she trained her magical powers through calm meditation.

"Good morning, Princess Peach." She calmly greeted me when her sapphire eyes opened.

"Did I disturb your training, Zelda?" I carefully asked.

"No, it's fine, not at all, don't worry. Since I arrived earlier, I decided I can wait, and the good aspect of meditation is that I can do it anywhere. As long as it is peace and quiet, I can blend my mind with the perfect serenity. The nature is a good example, as you can see."

"Ah, okeedoke. I'm glad to hear. So what's our tactics this time?"

"I thought about it. Sir Aran is not very talkative as you have realised." She smiled and I knew what she was referring to. I still felt a bit embarrassed. "What we can do instead, our approach, we can ask any other Smasher who knows Samus longer than we do. I'm sure that anyone from the first tournament: Captain Falcon, Fox, Ness, Yoshi, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, Donkey Kong, Mario, Luigi, Kirby and Link can tell us something about him. Communications with the Pokémon, Yoshi, Kirby and Donkey Kong is not possible, so we can try the remaining Smashers. I suggest that Mario is a likely candidate, he seems to get along with every other Smasher, even negotiating with villains proves to be possible with Mario. Peach, do you think you can do it? Asking Mario what he knows about Samus."

"I can, but..." I bit my lips.

"I understand. I will find it difficult too, when I have to gain information about a man from... a different man.. I don't know how to say it properly."

"I know what you mean. You don't ask such things from your boyfriend. They just don't appreciate it."

"Boyfriend? Peach! Link and I, we aren't that close! Still, it can be true what you say. Link wasn't very amused when I brought up questions about Prince Marth. So, hmmm. Well, I have an idea! We can ask the person most close to him. Someone like his best friend. I observed the interactions of Smashers and which led to the conclusion that Samus doesn't have a lot of friends. He does spar a lot with Captain Falcon in the Training Room at 5 o'clock until 9 o'clock in the evening each day. Albeit Falcon does not have to be his best friend, he's the best resource we've got. Because during training sessions or friendly spars, one will leave his weapons or equipment to the side. Which means that it is highly accessible for the Captain to have seen Samus without his suit for at least once. If that's the case, we can even inspect the place now and then. What do you think about it, Peach?"

"Wow, omigosh, I've got only one word! You're a genius, Zellie!" Zelda blushed when I said it. To be honest, visiting the gym did not sound a great plan. In theory it was brilliant, but there was a little problem. I once read that men who sweat a lot also produced a nasty reek. And there's one person I had in mind as those typical men; Captain Falcon. Must be the reason why Sir Aran always kept his helmet on.

"There's something I just don't understand. They share the same profession but they don't have to hang with each other. Why does someone as intelligent as Samus hang with a doofus like Captain Falcon?" I asked the Hyrulian girl. She was super smart, so she must have an answer for everything.

"Excuse me, what does the word 'doofus' mean?" She looked at me with a very confused face.

"I don't know I just read it somewhere."

"Is it a Latin word? It has that certain ring." Suddenly she pinned back her pointy elf ears as if she sensed danger. The princess gasped and remained silent.

"Ze-..." I didn't dare to finish her name. She made a 'shhh' gesture and I listened to the surroundings. It was normal until the tranquillity of nature was disturbed by footsteps. The heavy footsteps became louder. My feet automatically moved backwards, so I drew near to the Hyrulian Princess. Her alert eyes darted nervously like a restless sea.

"Peach, prepare yourself..." She whispered with underlying fear in her speech. Judged by the loud noise it came from somebody big, scary, fierce, powerful, angry, somebody you don't want to meet in a dark alley. Anguished cries drew near, purplish glowing aura surrounded the Princess' hands. The monster was coming at us! I took my frying pan and held it the way Roy taught me to hold. Clenching the metal handle between the tense grip I was ready to swing the steel kitchen utensil. We both crept behind an Ionic pillar and waited for the monster to arrive.

Erratic huffing and heavy breathing soon was the only thing I heard. An acidic miasma flowed inside my nostrils, I tried my best not to breathe in the foul hot air. Accidently I coughed, which evoked attention. When I step away from the pillar, it immediately ambushed us. "AAARGH!! YAR! HAAA!" he furiously roared. Zelda released the energy from her palm, however it missed the target. I jumped forth, blindly smacking nothing but air. I came eye to eye with the creature. The monster was big, the monster was fast, the monster was blue, the monster was...

"FAL-..CON... P-.." the monster growled and abruptly stopped. A flabbergasted Zelda was seen next to me. There was only one 'monster' we knew who repeated this line.

"CAPTAIN FALCON!! What was the need to startle us like that! It's still early in the morning!" I shouted. I did not take his joke, surprise or whatever funny at all.

"Hiya early birds!" he answered enthusiastically and one could tell that he was unaware of my anger. I smacked the man right on his helmet with my frying pan.

"WAH! You didn't need to attack me like that! So what brings the two gorgeous princesses for visiting ol' Falcon at morning?" the muscle-freak seriously thought we were waiting for him! Wait, actually we needed him. He came, which was hitting two birds with one stone. We didn't have to look this idiot and since he was here we could interview him. My ire was gone.

"Well, good morning, Captain Falcon! Princess Zelda and I are on a top-secret investigation. And.."

"Don't make me laugh, Peach. You two, on investigation!?" Falcon pulled a face which was even sillier than his normal silly face.

"This is not a laughing matter, and in fact it is very important grave matter. Smashers hiding anything from other Smashers arouse suspicion and we need certainty. Uh.. it is for the well being of every Smasher, and.. ah Princess Peach, you can do the talking." Zelda gave me the honour to speak.

"As Zelda mentions. The life of every Smasher depends on it, and that's including you, Mr. Falcon. So cough up everything you know about Samus Aran!"

"Huh? What's up about Sam?" deadpanned he asked. That man was so gullible, he actually thought we were on investigation of a crucial issue.

"That is what we are asking you!"

"Why ask me all of sudden?"

"You are his closest sparring partner. You both train in the gym from 5 o' clock till 9 o' clock.

"Wow! Hold there, Zellie!" It was obvious that poor Zelda disliked being called Zellie by Falcon, because she pouted slightly.

"You were checking me out? So how do my muscles look like, eh, in action? Splendid, huh?"

"We aren't interested in you." She coldly replied. I never expected that the polite, caring Zelda could talk like that.

"Ah, ol' Sam you wanna know about. Eh, nice guy. But I guarantee that if yar looking for a dependable and high success rate bounty hunter, ya can hire me! I can do everything he can, only without Power Suit and even mega times as effective!! I have a greater endurance and stamina! I even give discount for my services for hotties like you two! So.."

Falcon leaped high up in the air and landed on top of a rock. Fearlessly he balanced on it with one foot, although Master Hand had claimed that this shard was the fossilisation of an otherworldly evil being. Nobody dared to mess with the stone, except when you're name is Captain Falcon. He showed some poses and started to dance oddly on the rock.

_"__HAR!! YESSS!! At your service!_

_Stop hiring losers like:_

_Uh, damn, I forgot the names of my other rivals. Never hire Samus!!_

_So... C'mon chicks, Show me yar moves!!_

_Give me the F!_

_Give me the A!_

_Give me the L!_

_Give me the K...!_"

(He depicted the letters with his body and I rolled my eyes from his ridiculous appearance. They even say that I am a dumb bimbo. So what would he be? I can't believe we share the same roof with this man. When he depicted letter 'A' I thought he was falling off. Because he made an angle with his legs and stood on the rock with one foot with the other balancing on nothing. Then he literary fell, however Falcon landed on his butt and made an 'L' right on time with the legs stretching horizontally and arms vertically.)

"HEY! I beg my pardon. But don't you spell Falcon with a C." I noticed.

"FALCON CRAP!! NO! I said C! I swear I did! I, Captain Falcon, never make mistakes!"

"Ahem, you really said K." I pushed further.

"I meant the German word for falcon, which is Falk-... uh, I.." he scratched his helmet.

"Since when did you know German?"

"Not that I know. Ah, I meant I do know...!"

"To err is human, forgive divine." Zelda said with a sigh.

"YES! I have no idea what Zelda is implying but my gut tells me that she's totally right. Excuse me, my dear princesses. I was carried off-track by my hyper enthusiasm of spelling my own handsome name! HAHAHA! Where was I again?" the captain scratched his helmet once again.

"Can you tell us what he looks like without suit, instead of mentioning the list of why you are better?"

"Ha, course I can, for two beauties I do ANYTHING! Wait.. I remember that ONE time I saw him.."

"And.." Zelda and I said in unison.

"Hey, lemme think.."

It turned awkwardly silent. Tick tock... tick tock... Time was thinking and we waited. He may be an idiot however he had valuable information, we hoped. Then his lips started to move. I focused on every word he spoke.

"Nah, I dunno. Forget about it. Guess it was just my imagination."

"That's it?" I questioned with a bit of annoyance.

"Ya know. Even though we combat each other... we train with each other. Pretty much, no other Smasher has seen him without suit. I was even planning to ask you girls what he looks like. I thought that he would show himself in front of you two." He saw our disappointment and tried to brighten our mood. He rested his burly arms over our shoulders as if we were his best buddies. His armpits were close to our necks, which was rather disgusting. The sweat drenched through his blue spandex jumpsuit and I didn't even want to know how long he had trained without taking a shower. Like a magician cheering up young children, out from nowhere he waved a paper in front of my face. A smile appeared, maybe it was a photo of _him_. The man released the strong hold and immediately I checked the little paper with curiosity.

"Hey by the way, make sure to check me out in the F-Zero Grand Prix this weekend. In Mute City, memorise it. I got these two VIP seats of Mute Stadium reserved for you two pretty princesses."

"No thanks." We both handed back the paper tickets simultaneously.

"Ya know, to be honest I can't stand when there's a bounty hunter in the galaxy who's even more handsome or popular than me! Heh, although I must admit that ol' Uncle Sam won't stand a chance against the mighty Falcon. So nothing to fear. HAHAHAHA!" Captain Falcon proudly exclaimed, completely assured of himself.

"It's decided. You can count on my services with the investigations, miladies!" he volunteered himself without asking our approval beforehand as he was so sure that we needed him. Zelda rolled her eyes, let's just hope that this man won't get in us way as he's... well, not the brightest man in the Smash Mansion.

"I'm curious about this Samus figure too. I mean how can you keep your face hidden from public so long? HAHAHA! Even I, mighty Falcon, have trouble of keeping my helmet low with billion fangirls trying to rob away my prized possession, just to see my full face." When thinking about it, I have never seen Captain Falcon's face either. Yet nobody cared what he looked like under the helmet.

"I thought that Blue Falcon was your prized possession." I uttered.

"Peachy, my princess! Falcon Helmet! Falcon Boots! Falcon Scarf! Falcon Pistol! Falcon Punch! Falcon Knee! Falcon etcetera! Etcetera! They're all precious to me. Don't worry, with my interstellar secret connections I know a lot of buddies who can help us out. See ya, pretty princesses! I'll contact you both with Falcon speed when I get valuable data!" He left us with a salute and jogged away with a happy-go-lucky attitude. Today we learned nothing new about our mysterious Sir Aran, however we got a recruit who can help us out. Let's hope that Captain Falcon is smarter than he looks, my dear.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!** I've got a pattern... serious chap – silly chap – serious chap – silly chap and so on. Might change in future, when it becomes a full angst story. I don't know what you prefer reading, serious/silly. I'm continuing this story for the reason that there are readers (You :D), please contribute your suggestions if you have a preference.

They're by the way not in love with Sir Aran. It's more like flirting with him (ahem.. her) out of curiosity, hoping that he revealed more about himself.

Captain Falcon is a complete idiot here in this fanfic. Although I prefer him as a bit smarter guy in general (Hey, I'm contradicting myself. I could write him as an intelligent man but I was in dire need for an idiot in the story. Couldn't find a different character.) I apologise if I have insulted your beloved Falcon, in case he's your favourite character.

Hey, I've got good news. I almost finished one of the future chapters. By the time I get to that point updates will be a bit faster I hope. I can't promise you anything, sorry.

---

**Princess Peach**: I'm absolutely grateful that you read this story. Please take your time to write a review, honeybuns. [puppy eyes]

**Lays**: Don't let the princess beg, dear reader.

**Captain Falcon**: Hey you, do I have to say that line once again?

**L**: Huh? Which one?

**C. Falcon**: That one you forced me to say in that other fic!

**L**: Oh. [rings bell] I didn't force you.

**C**. Falcon: It was a nasty bribe though.

**PP**: Lays wouldn't bribe anyone, don't be mean towards the author, Mr. Falcon.

**L**: Yup. Didn't bribe you as the Princess stated.

**C. Falcon**: Aight, since I love shouting, I say it once again with my masculine voice: SHOW ME YOUR REVIEWS!! Hey, what do I see there! Hey you, good-looking no-name blondie! You, go promote this fic too with your sweet girly charms!

[He looks at a blonde, tall, busty woman in the far distance and waved frantically at her]

**C. Falcon**: WAAH! That chick ignored the Mighty Captain Falcon. She certainly got guts! Huh? Hmmmm. Where again did I see her before? [Scratched his helmet dumbfound]

---

**L**: Hey, why did you say K instead of C?

**C. Falcon**: You were underestimating me! Actually when I depict a 'C' I have to follow up with 'O', however that's difficult, even with a godly bod like mine!


	5. Chapter 5

_Dear reader,_

Like a bolt from the blue... I've got a new chapter! Yup, this is the living proof that 'Rotten Peach' hasn't decayed away from the face of earth. Thanks for the reviews by the way, they mean a lot for me! To spare embarrassing errors, I don't spell your names here. XD

If you go back to chapter 3, some obvious mistakes are fixed.

_I didn't know that Arwings was the collective name for the vehicles which the characters from Starfox fly. I thought that it was only the specific name for Fox's spaceship [Hides in shame]. Bowser is included as royalty, I made it a bit unclear before but I DO know he's a King :D. Young Link is included in the list of the statues. Marth doesn't speak English? Uh, let pretend he does, so I don't have to add his name as well in chapter 4 when Peach hit Zelda's strings by saying that perfect guys need to speak English. Sorry for the confusion, I hope you can cope with it. To err is human, forgive divine. Be a divine being and please forgive my mistakes. Yup, I'm just a human, what else did you think? :P_

This chapter is directly after chapter 3. A brief recap: In chapter 4, Princess Peach and Princess Zelda try to find more about Samus, with little success. Now back to chapter 3, Peach wanders in the garden and she follows a shadow which leads her inside the Lost Woods. Entering the forest, will the identity of the shadow be revealed now? Please continue! :P

There will be a certain character included whose name you'll probably recognise from this fanfiction site. I'm so happy that I got permission to borrow her author name! :D If you want to know who, then continue, instead allowing me to spoil. Nevertheless I hope you enjoy it! ^_^

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Nintendo and the authoress mentioned in this story.**

* * *

**- Rotten Peach -**

**Chapter 5:**

**(Pre-brawl)**

I was wandering. Mindlessly wandering through the Smash Mansion. Then I decided to check the Smash Botanical Garden. When nothing could be seen there, I thought it was better to visit the Plaza of Statues. However someone moved the statues and it upset me. I don't know why. I just felt sad. Sad because things have to change. Even little things have to change. I wonder why I ponder so much about change. Wouldn't it be even sadder when nothing can change? When everything have to stay the same. I really don't the answer when someone asks me what I prefer: a constantly changing world or a fixed unchanging world. It all depends on the situation I would say.

Now I ended up in the Lost Woods when I followed the shadow. One part of me told me that I stood no chance of survival in this labyrinth. It was common knowledge for every Smasher that the Lost Woods was not a forest you should underestimate. In daytime, it was like any other wood, crowded with all kind of different trees; willows, canopies, elms, mahoganies, oaks, birches, and cherry blossoms. They weren't arranged or planted in any specific order, but scattered freely inside the vast area. It's one of the habitats in the Smash Universe which weren't maintained by the Hands, so to hear. They own the whole place in theory, but since the forest grow on its own, they allowed the wild life to go on its untamed own way. Little emerald bushes sprout everywhere when you look at the fertile ground. Twigs, branches and broken trees scattered the floor, almost like a jungle. Anywhere where you stepped, your feet were entangled between a matrix of lignin and fallen leaves.

Most Smashers used this forest territory as a training ground to sharpen their survival techniques. The Fire Emblem swordsmen prefer the natural ground above the artificial infrastructure, I think. McCloud and Lombardi found it a nice environment for exploration as due to the unpredictable forces of nature. Therefore they used Lost Woods as a simulation for when they have to go on extraterrestrial missions. (Smash Universe is for most Smashers safer than their own galaxies I guess. For me it's quite the same as Mushroom Kingdom had never been recognised as hazardous, but I can imagine that thanks to the Hands' supervision situations would be less dangerous.) Link and Sheik often trained their ranging skills with shooting practices in the forest. It was a clash between arrow and needles, and every time the Sheikah picked me as a referee. Honestly you wouldn't find me in the place if no one dragged me there. My ground-reaching dress was never fit for a wet outdoor trip. If you didn't watch out, you would fall into mud and other drudge, which occurred many, many times with me. Albeit I come across negatively, I do enjoy the company of small forest animals, such as the tiny singing birds when you finally reach the heart of the forest. Not that I know where the centre is, but Link had adapted some special Hyrulian traits. And for me, he's a living compass. I also adore the fresh woody air, right after it had rained.

What I just told you is the Lost Woods at day. At night it is totally different story. I heard that the name derived from the rumours of the past. Incidents had occurred when people and other creatures foolishly entered the forest during night time without decent preparation or survival tools. Like forecasted, they never found their exit as nobody had seen them again once more. Nobody knew what happened with them, however they speculated that there was more than just the darkness which hindered their view. Because the longest wait for light to return is eight hours. Even if they lost their way, they could wait when morning dawned, I thought. The Hands told that if it was this simple, nobody would vanish from existence as soon they enter. Rumours told that as soon as the light was gone, the creatures of the night began to mourn.

---

It's awkward. I'm telling you this while I myself am strolling inside the Lost Woods. You see, I have to keep myself calm before I flip or stress. 'The Lost Woods isn't that scary. The Lost Woods is not scary, the Lost Woods is like any other ordinary wood.' I kept chanting to myself. Hihihi, nothing but trees, right? Insecurity rose up in my mind at the moment I thought about the word _nothing_. I realise that I'm not so sure anymore. It's not the same as the countless occasions when I enter this place. Something was odd. My body trembled, and it wasn't only about the cold. I crossed my arms and pulled my gown tighter around my body, while I felt my shaking body wrapped by the delicate velvets of my dress.

I constantly told myself that these were just rumours, nothing more. Precautions, invented by the Hands, in case the younger ones got lost in a dark forest. Rumours, to keep us safe inside the mansion. Telling us that the unfound bodies became one with the forest, whereas their souls are imprisoned in the woods for eternity. Their bothered spirits feast on living souls to make other suffers from the same pain they endured. To tell you the actual truth, I believe in the rumours. Rumours can't be just rumours, right? Why would no one enter the Lost Woods if it were just the rumours that kept them away? To distract my fears I started to wipe the wrinkles on my clothing. Not that I can see any wrinkles, I randomly brushed my dress on any possible wrinkle I could think of. My annoying nervous habit. I flatted my dress so many times that it became flatter than a pancake. Then the thought rose up that I hadn't eat anything this morning as my stomach churned with a dreary low noise.

---

Brushing the dress did not help with anything. "I have to move on..." I literally told myself. Was it me, or did I sound very weak without confidence? But it was so dark. I couldn't see anything. Not even a tree. I looked up and hoped that the night's sky would share any light from the stars. Survival tip number... nevermind, it isn't the time for trivial matters. But no. The sky above me was equally black, no moon, no stars, no light of guidance. The only thing I could feel was the damp mist stroking against my cold skin.

Another survival tip: Listen to the sounds in your environment. Listen, perk your ears and listen. No, this doesn't work. I don't have the adapted ears of a Hyrulian or animal. Lost Woods was too quiet. I'm not lying, there wasn't any sign of stampeding boots of marching koopa, cackling boos, howling wolf, or the oohoo from owls. Even the nocturnal creatures didn't stay in the forgotten forest. Suddenly I began to hear the sound of a tired breathing beast. Huh, huh, huh, it continued. I focused on the breathing. The more anxious I became, the noise followed suit with even louder and faster breathing. Soon it became panting. Very noisy panting as if... as if I was running out of breath. Why was it mimicking my feelings? Oh no, of course Peach, I was listening to my own breathing for the whole time. Calm down, Peach, there isn't anyone beside you.

My fingers began to lose touch. Disorientated, I blindly moved my arms, just to touch something. I remembered something with mosses. Mosses could determine the direction of north, east, west or south. Oh, I wished I paid more attention when we used to have outdoor survival trips. No contact I felt. Not even a bark my fingers could touch. Was I floating through void? Through nothingness? No, I couldn't be floating. My legs were moving somehow. But I already lost track of time and the directions I took.

No... This couldn't work. I can't take it anymore. The shadow doesn't mean anything. There wasn't a shadow in the first place. My imagination. Maybe from the sleepless nights. If there was a shadow, why should I mind? The Hands should be the people bothering with the welfare of the Smash Universe. I'm just Princess Peach. I'm just Peach. I... this... it is none of my business. Time to head back. I hate it, however... it's all what I can do. I don't want to escape. I want to be braver, but I'm a yellow Peach, a coward for eternity.

I need to get back to the Mansion. Wait. How did I get here? I followed my instinct. I wandered, I wandered, and I wandered. Oh God, how the heck can I get back? I didn't plan a route, I didn't put any markers, I stupidly followed my own way. Please, spare me for this once! Oh, where the hell am I!? Calm down Peach. You're not the brainless blonde, you can think! 360 degrees! No 180 degrees, of course! Turn 180 degrees and if I walk straight, then it is my only way to return. To a safe place. I spin my body around. 180... 180... It's about this. No. Not like this. I turned too many circles. How many again? Oh...

---

Before I knew, I was violently pulling on my own clothes, from panic. My eyes started to tingle and burn, without blazing flames. Then my cheeks became wet. However, there was no rain. Not that I could recall. More water began to stream from my eyes. I can't take it anymore! Am I going to die? My breathing became irregular. I faintly recalled that I heard myself gasping for air. Peach... Calm down... you can't hyperventilate! Not now! My heart ached. It hurts. It hurts so much. As if... needles ... stung... my heart. I... don... know... what... to... do...

My body crushed down on my knees. I lost the strength to hold. Sharp points ripped my dress apart during the fall. Several crack sounds were also heard when I landed. I did not care about my stupid dress. I was lucky enough that I wasn't injured too grave, because I didn't feel pain. Only bruises. A chilly breeze scraped passed my stock panties. Something watery splashed against my face. It smelled earthly, it could be mud. The next moment I was lying flat on my stomach on top of the mushy bed of things which I assumed to be rotten leaves and twigs. I couldn't wipe the mud from my face when my arms were somehow trapped beneath something heavy. I wiggled and struggled. I kicked my knees and felt as if I was drowning in an endless pit. Swamp... I must get out. I shook my body wildly with more strength. With one swift chuck I budged the hinderness that trapped my arms. CRACK! The weight on my shoulder was gone. A tear was brought on the strap of my purse. And immediately, the next instant, my eyes caught the sight of a chunky object rolling away from me; my last resource.

I did not think. For whatever reason I could tell it was my life saver. The rough piece of rock, which I had with me apparently, gave so much light that it could enlighten my surroundings in the Lost Woods. The illuminating light was yellowish and all what I could determine was that it started to fade. Maybe it wasn't fading, but the light source became dimmer. The lightsource came from this ore and no matter what I had to get this stone in my possesion. But my body was tired and weakened. I couldn't get up and crept on the wet surface which had the murky smell of unfresh acorns and old mushrooms on top of a layer of crushed carrion (It smelled so bad I assumed it was dead flesh). I wished I could pinch my nostrils somehow, but at the same time I had nothing in mind beside stalking the fainting beacon of light.

I recognised that I was going down a slope. Deeper and deeper I crawled down. The abysmal muddy brown liquid almost reached my shoulders. With effort I kept my neck above the cold thick water. I felt like being pulled down into a dense abyss. I used my umbrella for some buoyancy as I couldn't swim very well. The yellow rock, I saw now, wasn't rolling down into the ooze. It was jumping, bouncing, floating, flying. It could keep itself above the surface. Each time it hit the water it shot up high above for a metre. Surprisingly it also couldn't sink.

I manouvred around an everlasting trail of tall pillars of black trees which protruded from the wet ground. Mist blew against my skin like the breath of Death. It literally was the most chilly touch you could imagine. No, don't think about death. Think of something positive. Thanks to the half-dim light I could vaguely tell where sharp thorns stuck out from the watery surface. So this time I wouldn't fall straight into a trap of wildgrowing weed surrounded with clothes-ripping spikes. When I got closer and closer I saw my chance. Almost there... The yellow light flickered right in front of me, then vanished. Again! Shoot, it flew away. Three, two, one... now! I outstretched my right arm and took the attempt to catch the light rock.

Never in my life I had been this desperate to clutch an object in my grip. I was determined to get the hold of it. With the greatest force I could muster I grabbed the rock... only I was greeted by an unwelcoming handshake. I shrieked from shock and immediately released the touch. I frantically waved my arm to make sure that the dirty bony fingers glide away from my hold. It was gone. But it wasn't time yet to rest in relief. It was the remnants of a corpse, or maybe from Redeads, creatures which Ganondorf summon at night when he was up to no good. I checked the water to see whether it had sunk to the dark invisible depths. To my surprise it was floating and in fact it was merely a snapped twig which resembled a hand. But this didn't mean I'm safe. As long as I couldn't see properly, I have to be cautious of any underlying hazard. Then I caught the yellow twinkle from the corner of my eye. I prepared myself and leapt.

I swung my arm. It jumped away. I got a plan. I used my umbrella to extend my reach and with a quick swipe I pulled it like a catching net towards me, with the shiny stone trapped inside. This time you can't get away from me! Finally I got hold of the tiny ore. It had black sparkling jolly eyes on the flat side. Then suddenly it came back to me. I know what this twinkling golden rock is! It isn't a rock. Peach, you have seen it many times before in your Kingdom! It's a star. A star that supplies invinsibility for a set of time. Right at this moment I could not even remember why it was found in my pouch. What I do know is that I have a light-emitting object and this meant that I have a higher chance to come out alive.

---

I immediately climbed out from the mud. You couldn't tell whether piranhas or other dangerous creatures were lurking in it. I didn't see anything for another time that resembles a human-shaped shadow. Maybe it had never been there. Maybe I was imagining things. Now, now, let's see. How to find my way from this forest. I was sick from it. Okeedoke. It was a mistake to step a foot inside. Well, little star, do you have any idea which direction I have to take?

"Peeeeaaaa-... chiiieeee..." a scary trembling voice spoke.

"Eeeek!" I gasped. From fear I let the star go. It jumped back to me, staring me with begging eyes. The response was not from the star because they couldn't talk. Then who could it be? Who would know my name? Master Hand? Crazy Hand? No, their voices are booming and loud, and I would recognise it instantly. Could it be this way? Sometimes I remind myself of my own name and then I say Peach. No, idiot princess! The voice was real and did not come from my mind. Why would I scare myself with such voice?

"Prin-... cess... Peeeeaaaa-... chiiiieeee...." it eerily continued, now a bit closer. "Where... are... you... a... a... a... a..." the voice nefariously echoed, with frequent annoying repetitions of the 'a' tone. "Peachie... Peachie... Peachie... a... a..." Ah! Shush! Shut up! Please shut up! I'm getting crazy. I ran forth. I made a mad dash. Away from the voice that keep stalking me. I stopped and sat down. Here, the echoes won't enter my ears anymore, I thought. "A... a... a..." started to fade. It became quiet. My scared eyes made contact with the worriless eyes of the bright star, which I cludged in my palms. For a moment I did not dare to make noise. My heart was beating like crazy and I wished I knew a way to suppress my heartbeat rate. Slowly I began to walk when the echoes died.

"Chuuuu.... chuuuu... chuuuu..." a different heavy-sounding loud voice spoke. It sounded nothing like a Pikachu. Too dreary and diabolic to belong from a cheery rodent. Nowhere I was safe. I had to move on. "Chuuuu... chuuuu..." it repeated, even louder and closer than before. Its hostile grunts haunted me wherever I went. I felt helpless. Leave me alone! Oh, please, don't hurt me! The otherwordly cries from that creature ceased as if it responded to my please and beggings. With the starlight I could trace a path and I paused behind a woody column when I heard footsteps. I hid myself behind it and I carefully inspected my surroundings. I didn't believe my eyes. It was real after all. A shady silhouette moved past the labyrinthical forest with ease.

--- --- ---

I had nothing to lose. I've decided it. I'm going to follow to shadow, even if it costs my life. It was much quicker than me. Whereas I had to climb over the thick roots of trees and fallen branches, that figure jumped over them skilfully. My stalking skills were better than I thought. That person (if he or she was a person) fortunately hadn't detected me yet. The back of my head told me that it was a meaningless chase, but I ignored my common sense. After a while it had slowed down a bit. Did he or she knew that I was following? I quickly made a bowl shape with my hands to dim the light from the star.

Then it struck me that the shadow didn't necessarily have to belong from a human figure. Its stealth movements were smooth and agile, almost as it belonged from a restless wraith. Now I have my doubts whether it was jumping or flying. However the sound of footsteps was never mistaken or connected to any paranoic influences. I was extra cautious of the sounds in my environment. Since the countless times I've been locked up in Bowser's Castle I have done nothing else beside detemining the sounds I can perceive in my room. It was a way to kill time. I could easily distinguish between the metal boots of the Hammer Bros. from the leather hiking boots of low-ranking Koopa Troopas. It has to do with the tempo and volume. In this situation I'm dead certain that at some point the shadow was running, and with great speed too.

After a while I almost blew my hide. I accidentally shone my starlight in front of my path. The dark silhoutte did not notice, but instead two low-settled golden orbs from the ground pierced at my direction. I held my breath and hid behind the closest fallen tree I could find at the moment. I counted to ten... one, two, three, four... exactly after four seconds the golden light disappeared and I continued to follow the shadow. Not even having the faintest idea where it led me to. Strangely enough it felt the best and safest thing to do.

---

Facing I-do-not-know how many obstacles, I reached this part of the Lost Woods which was different from the previous trails I had endured. My dress and gown was ragged and dirty, barely recognisable. I lost my royal crown (at least on my head). I undid my silken gloves which had gained appearance of fishnet, and immediately brushed my frozen hands against each other to gain some warmth. The forest wasn't as dark anymore. I gazed up and saw that high above my head, the spaces between the canopy leaves allowed the moonlight to lit the ground. Streaks of pale beams from the heaven enlightened my way. Moist grass grew from the fertile meadow, covered with flowers and mushrooms alike. Trees with vertical silver lines reflected the light, standing neatly next each other, forming walls at left and right side. It was like wandering through an almost magical, dream-like, inviting corridor. Wait, where was the shadow I've been following for the whole time?

Right in front of me, the figure stopped running away. Next to the shadow's feet, the grass rustled. It shook a bit, then it returned to its gentle waving pace. Something unseen vanished behind the grass and I don't think that it was a play from an unexpected gust. I summoned my turnip, which immediately took shape of a fierce weapon between my grip. For one minute I felt very strong and brave, prepared for any ambushes or surprise attacks. But I don't think that this is necessary. That person didn't pose a real threat or anything. Neither did it took a violent stance nor beckoned me to come. The tension went away very soon. I had a feeling that a moment of revelation was nearing. I don't know what, however a strong urge told me that I need to know. I took big steps to approach the human-shaped silhouette.

I wandered straightforwardly. Dead-end, the path beyond the place where the figure stood was blocked by a collosal tree, I noticed. No way to escape, except turn back and run away forever. For me, that was no option. My eyes scanned the backside body of that person from toe to head. The tenseness of my fingers' grip around my turnip went away completely. For some reason I felt more at ease when the identity of the 'shadow' was revealed. Right before me stood a woman I'd never seen before in my life. I did not know who she was but I at least can tell that she wasn't a brute monster. Actually I'm not quite certain of that person's gender, as I only saw the backside and the long green hair. It was impossible to guess her age. She turned around.

Her sable green hair draped over her face like a curtain of overgrown ivy dangling over a bleak wall. It was the green of moss, very sombrely dark and lacking any bright colour. The hair was long and unattended, as if its owner had forgotten that she had them in the first place. You couldn't see her face very well, except the red visor or goggle thing that jutted out where the eyes should be. I thought that I had seen those kind of visors somewhere before in Smash Mansion. Maybe not... You don't have many high-tech gadgets in my Kingdom. The woman was taller than me.

She wore very little, rather unfit for the weather. Unprotected against the cold, her attire consisted of a skin-tight crimson leotard. It could be a bathing suit as well, since the material was thin and smooth and it reflected the moonlight. The blood-coloured leotard ran all the way over her neck and the long sleeves covered her whole arms. Despite the bad lighting, I could tell that she was athletically built. Her semi-exposed long arms legs were sinew, however not too muscular like those of males. More to the direction of the boyish Smashers like Link or Roy. The boots she wore, which presumably hid her equally strong shins, matched the colour of her one-piece suit. I assumed that she was either a sportswoman or an amazon. The woman reminded me a bit of Captain Falcon with his appreciation for spandex. Maybe she was an acquaintance of him? Perhaps from the same world? A new Smasher? But why? Why would she be in the Smash Universe when everybody had left? Or could she be an inhabitant of the Wood? A fairy, a sprite, or an evil spirit? Unanswered questions popped in my mind.

While I shrivelled when a cold wind swooshes passed my gown, the woman stood there without moving one limb at all. Her pallid lilac skin was entirely unaffected by the cold. The gust merely pushed away the emerald veil to the side and revealed her face partly. An unfamiliar face, a face I've never seen in my life. Her facial features were in fact prettier than I expected. I think it is because I had no idea what to expect. She wasn't ugly or old, perhaps somewhat close to my age, still she seemed a bit off. Her unhealthily purplish pale skin and long kelp-like hair gave her a ghostly appearance. And the fact that her face was unseen behind the hair most of the time made me quiver from the thought that I was ill-fated enough to encounter an actual banshee.

"Excuse me, can I ask you some questions?" I asked with pretended calm composure. I couldn't show myself as a scared princess. And it was impolite to make yourself visibly afraid of someone you just met. Prejudice isn't a good thing. The woman didn't answer me. She didn't speak English, I concluded, like some of the Smashers. However I didn't give up.

"I'm Peach. Who are you?" No answer arose.

"Can you tell me your name?" I tried once again. This time it seemed more effective.

"..." her lips stirred as if she wished to say something. For only a second it occured, then her mouth remained shutted.

"Hmm? You've got a name right? Don't worry. I mean no harm to you." I pushed on with a friendly demeanour. I thought that she gave me a reply because I heard a low grunt or a mumble. It sounded hostile and ferocious and from what I could tell, it came from the bottom. My eyes wandered down. The patch of grass next to her red boots had shaken once again. Then it stopped. I stepped forward closer towards the female body.

"Please tell me. What... are you?" I pressed on, now with less patience. Suddenly I realised it. I made a wrong move. This approach is wrong, it almost became too much of an interrogation. You never ask anybody what her or she was. It was rude, and utmost dangerous. What if the woman is not was she seems. Do I gain anything if I discover that she was an actual beast in disguise, or already dead, or maybe a zombie? No, it's always safer to stay away from such things. Fortunately she didn't hear me or understood one word I had spoken. Then I took another wrong move. Accidentally I walked one step closer to her rather than taking one step backwards. It happened really fast. I wanted to confirm that the woman was a living being and not a ghost or spirit. I touched her. I didn't know what limb I touched. It could be her shoulder or hand. I remembered that she felt really cold like ice.

"Leave me alone." she reacted instantly by shoving me away with considerable amount of force. I tumbled on the floor with my butt hitting the soft earth. I looked up to the woman. She was incredibly powerful and tall like a giant from the position I sat. I felt powerless. I had to grab my golfclub for protection, but I didn't bring it as a possesion. I clenched my eyes. The monotonous chugging from the wild beast sneaked towards my ears. Was this some kind of vengeance? For what I had done? When will she attack? Am I going to die now? I opened my eyes. A pain even worse than I expected surged through my body. From my ankle to be exact.

Sharp fangs perforated through the brim of dress, inside the flesh of my leg. I yelped from pain. It wasn't only the bleeding wound that caused the most injure. Continuous shocks of electricity ran from the wound throughout my whole body, making it way through my spine. My blood was boiled with high voltage. My brain hurted, I felt dizzy. My body became limb. I was paralysed. I couldn't do anything, until the tingling pain had streamed away to the earth. I rubbed my wounds. Not without effort. The aftermath from the electrocution seized control of my limbs, even the movement and contraction of my fingers. I rolled up tiny, and rubbed the two holes induced by the feral front teeth. Surprisingly, the wounds were minor and I barely lost blood as if my attacker was small in size. My greatest fear was that the monster would bite me once again. I shouldn't think about it. The worst occured. It plunged its teeth in my dress again and dragged my fallen body to an uprising root of a tree.

"Pikana. Stop it." The green-haired woman calmly spoke. Her voice was deep and monotone, almost robotic. Also a hint of authority was found. Immediately, the monster stopped pulling the brim of my dress. I assumed that she was the master over the creature. I looked and saw the tiny monster that was once chewing the velvet fabric. He stood up meekly on his petite hind legs with his gaze fixed at mine. From the golden shimmer of maroon beads I recognised that he was a Pikachu, however something seemed wrong. It had to do with his eyes. The way he stared at me.

Normally I find the little huggable Pokémon adorably cute. But in his eyes I sensed an indescribable feeling of grudge. Why little guy? Why do you hate me so much? Have I wronged you? It was if he could peer inside my soul. It was if he could see the actual me, which is unseen by most people. Although I don't recall that I have hurt this Pikachu before, I have sinned more than I have done justice. My eyes wandered back to the side of the woman. I demanded answers from her. My gut feeling told me that she knew more than I did. She knew that Pikachu and probably he attacked me from her command.

---

Sound of rustling boots. The emerald-haired woman walked over to my side. She crouched down and inspected my body, which was lying down like a horribly pummeled limp Sandbag after the Homerun contest. She squeezed my neck and pulled me slightly up. It wasn't a death choke, more like a wild animal handling with their young ones. Nevertheless, I had breathing difficulties and the woman did not treat me with any special mercy for a helpless princess. She roughly slapped on my face, checking whether I was conscious. It could be pinches or punches as well, all I could remember that it hurted like hell. The rabid Pikachu glared at me with sick sadism, almost happy that I ended in this state. The sneaky one whispered some "Pika... pika" in a harsh tone. The woman turned her face to the rat, listening what the rodent had to say. I couldn't read her facial expression at all. It was hidden behind that visor and long hair. Nothing positive I expect.

"Pikana... you said that she did _that_?" the woman coldly asked. I did _that_? What exactly were they talking about? What have I done? Of course I remember everything from detail, from the beginning of my days in the Smash Univers until now. Memories replay in my mind constantly, like a broken recorder repeating every same thing over and over again. In fact I knew exactly what I had done. The woman faced my direction. Both of them looked down at me, surrounded by an aura of ill-intentions. I couldn't ask her what she meant. What happened the next instant, it remained a mystery for me. It could be either the doing of Pikana or the woman. My vision went black.

* * *

**Thanks for reading (till the end)!** ^_^ Reviews are greatly appreciated. But like always, it's no fun to get flamed, so you know what this means. Nah, I don't think that this is a very good chapter, but it was necessarily to move the story. And I hope that it was a bit readable, no spelling or grammar checker on the current computer I'm using (but at the same time I can't delay it for any longer: Previous update was in April/May 2009... that was too long ago). Do you prefer short chapters or lengthy ones? In my opinion this one is long (around 6000 word count). Short chapters will be like those of chapter 1 & 2 (around 1000-3000 words).

And... this time I even enabled reviews without having you to log in. If you have questions I recommend you to log in because I reply to every signed review.

Uhm, I think the shadow is not such a big mystery anymore. I'm pretty sure that the hair colour is not wrong. Unless there's something totally wrong with my eyes and I don't think that I'm colourblind. The skin colour is also a bit messed up, dunno how to describe it. The red visor or goggles thingie is another thing I've added which shouldn't be in the game. I don't want to be too obvious and I love to bring readers on the wrong track. Anyway, the desciption you got here, take it with a grain of salt. It's descriptive but not much corresponding to SSB or the game where she's from.

Those who have paid attention must have noticed the name **Pikana**. The Pikachu in the story is named after her in honour for the authoress. And **Pikana**, thank you very much for allowing me to borrow your name! I really find it super awesome. However Pikana in the story is not an OC and not entirely based on the authoress. I tried to keep her bad-ass, but in this chappie she comes across a bit violent, no? [Can a Pikachu actually perform 'Thunder Fang'? I haven't played Pokemon for a very long time. Oh, that was the move she did when she bit Peach.] Later on in the story you'll discover her role in the Smash Universe and she's definitely not a minor character! BTW the gender mistake in story is intentionally. Pikana is mentioned as a 'he' because most people can't see the gender of Pokémon. (I know, you should look at the tail of a Pikachu, female: heart-dent shape)

Chapter 6 will be silly chap. Melee time: one week or two after chapter 4. Watch out, the plot gets eeniemeenie bit darker and more disturbing... and I promise I'll definitely finish it. Seriously, I planned out the story more than half year ago and I'm only nearing halfway. I can't tell you when chapter 6 will appear on this site. Expect it somewhere in August, otherwise... next year. Hopefully next schoolyear, the dreadful exam year (Eek, I'm already nervous!), won't distract me too much from writing.

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(Bonus sneak preview)

Samus checks 'his' radar that detects _unwanted_ presences. Sir Aran discovered that three red dots have been stalking him for more than an hour. He checked his vicinity through the visor and saw no one.

_Peach_: "Falcon! Don't lean on my arm with your heavy weight!"

_Zelda_: [whisper] "Sshh. Peach remember, don't shout."

_C. Falcon_: [usual loud Falcon voice] "Peachy!! Don't tug on my golden yellow FALCON scarf!"

Zelda transforms in Sheik. Sheik holds the Captain's neck in a firm choking grip, Sheikah assassin style. Falcon immediately became quiet.

_Sheik_: [deep voice] "Silence."

However the Mushroom Princess and the F-Zero guy began arguing again. One method to shut them up: Sheik used her extra bandages to tape the mouths of the two. A bit harsh, but it worked.

The galactic orange knight ignored the rumbling shrub and continued wandering forth. Where bigger bounties can be collected, rather than catching some silly idiots hiding in bush.

Sheik transforms into Zelda and steps away from the other two.

_Zelda_: "Wait! I'm not an idiot, I have the Tri-Force of Wisdom!"

_Peach_: "But Zellie! We are an awesome team. We may sweat tears and blood, however we always stick together. Stalking our knight till the end!"

Princess Peach crossed her arms over Zelda's, and Falcon in turn crossed his bulky one over Zelda's because the attention-seeking man felt a bit neglected.

_Zelda_: "Oh, dearest goddess of wisdom, the benevolent Nayru. Alas, I have to stick with these two idiots."

_C. Falcon_: "YES!! And sweat readers, don't forget to leave a lovely fan mail for me!"


	6. No more chapters

_Dear reader,_

Thanks for continuing! It means loads for me. ^_^ I've got sad news. Rotten Peach will not be continued anymore. :( I was working on chapter 6. I do have a planning and the ideas that go with each chapter. However I didn't manage to finish it in my holidays while I have the time. It's a busy year for me and I'm taking a break from fanfiction.

Well, waiting for more than a year isn't worth anymore. So if you really want to know what happen next or what Princess Peach had done in the past according my little fic, please send me a pm or write a review. I'll spoil everything for you. Thank you for your understanding. For all authors out here, I wish you good luck with writing! Peace out.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Nintendo.**


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